Quilon's south Indian cuisine bags Taj its first Michelin Star
Domain-b.com — January 28, 2008

Taj's flagship property in the United Kingdom, 51 Buckingham Gate's south Indian restaurant, Quilon, has received the ultimate culinary accolade - a Michelin Star, the global food and beverages industry's highest accolade.

Quilon Restaurant in Victoria is one of the five London restaurants to be awarded their first Michelin stars. It is only the fifth Indian restaurant in the British capital to win the recognition for its food and, in fact, the only South Indian restaurant in the UK to bag the rare award.

Quilon specialises in cuisine from Kerala, Goa and Karnataka with seafood a particular speciality. Among a new generation of Indian restaurants specialising in lighter sauces and more progressive offerings, it is the sister restaurant of the famous Bombay Brasserie.

Michelin has 75 inspectors in Europe, 10 in North America and six in Tokyo, Bulmer said. They take multiple meals at restaurants being considered for the guide and regularly check establishments that already hold stars.

The Michelin Star, the industry's highest accolade, recognises executive chef Sriram Aylur's passion for contemporary southern Indian coastal cuisine and his ability to blend traditional home cooking with modern dishes.

"I am absolutely delighted to receive such a prestigious award," said chef Sriram. "Winning the star is an achievement of which the whole team at Quilon is extremely proud. We will be inspired by this recognition and seek to continue improving the cuisine that are serve at Quilon".

A student of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in India in 1984, Chef Sriram joined the Taj group of hotels in 1989. His passion for food and knowledge lead him to take overall charge of the Gateway Hotel in Bangalore. It was two years before he became the executive chef of the hotel. It was there, that Sriram began to experiment with taking the potential of southern Indian cuisine to the world.

The challenges in the London market were many. The biggest of them all being the perspective that Indian food was projected in. The actual knack was in using the right technique and right ingredients from the recipe to cater to the real world, without compromising on the foundation of the cuisine. Incidentally, Quilon is the largest importer of South Indian spices in whole of UK.

The menu at Quilon is a unique blend of ethnic and progressive dishes. Black cod, tempered asparagus and French beans, seafood in mustard and coconut cream sit comfortably side by side with more traditional South Indian dishes such as chicken korma, fish in banana leaf, avial and the inimitable masala dosa.

Other accolades for Quilon include:

• 2004: Star diamond award from the American Academy Of Hospitality Sciences
• 2003: Quilon was nominated as one of the five best restaurants in Time Out food guide
• 2001: Best Indian Restaurant by Good Curry Guide award